A performer is singing a dramatic rendition of Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” his voice echoing through the Dixon Ministry Center (aka the DMC). The crowd is hanging on his every note when suddenly … it sounds like Kermit the Frog is singing?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Cedarville’s Got Talent, or CGT!
I’ve always loved an event. Whether it’s a basketball game, a local concert, or a birthday party, I love being part of a crowd where everyone is getting excited about the same thing. My friends joke that I go to everything — and it’s true. But out of all the campus events I’ve been to, Cedarville’s Got Talent might be my favorite.
CGT is an annual student talent competition featuring everything from music and dance to highly specialized talents that are a little harder to categorize. I’ve seen marshmallow trick shots, juggling acts, magic tricks, and Benson Boone impersonations.
At the end of the night, the audience votes for their favorite performance, so everyone gets a say in who wins.
You Think You Know Your Classmates
Cedarville is a small enough campus that you get used to seeing the same familiar faces. You recognize people in classes, walking around the lake, in the Chick-fil-A line, or in the rows behind you in chapel.
Then, one of those familiar faces walks onstage and reveals that he can do a jaw-dropping Michael Jackson impression. CGT is the one night where people you only know in passing reveal their secret skills.
Come One, Come All!
My friends and I arrived at the DMC 30 minutes before the show started, thinking we’d beat some of the crowds. We did not.
Alumni Hall was already full of people waiting to get inside, many of whom were sitting on the floor in front of the doors like they were holding barricade spots at a concert.
As soon as the doors opened, there was a stampede to find seats. Thankfully, my roommates and I were able to sit together with a great view of the action. The lights went down, and the show opened with an introductory dance number to “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman. Then came the acts!
Places, Everyone!
One of the standout performances was a guy who solved not one, not two, but four Rubik’s Cubes in under a minute. He timed himself on stage, and the ticking clock really added to the suspense. My heart was pounding as he finished with less than a second to spare.
The whole crowd went insane. Everyone jumped to their feet. I almost shed a tear.
As someone who has never successfully solved a Rubik’s Cube myself, I was both impressed and seriously humbled. Maybe this is my sign to practice.
Then came one of my favorite acts of the night. A pianist had the judges draw four different notes from a hat and announced that he would improvise a song with them. I’ll admit, I was skeptical. The mismatched notes didn’t sound like a recipe for a beautiful song.
But the crowd went absolutely silent as he started to play. After all of the screaming and cheering from the previous acts, the quiet was almost eerie.
His performance gave me goosebumps. It was phenomenal.
Those two performances don’t even begin to cover the variety of talents displayed that night. There was a High School Musical tribute, a yo-yoist, a Star Wars-themed martial arts showcase, and a band who performed a satirical song about Cedarville parking rules.
That unpredictability is what makes CGT so much fun. There’s no way of knowing what’s coming next!
Don’t Get FOAMO (Get It?)
Cedarville brought back the CGT afterparty for the first time in years. When I heard it was going to be a “foam dance party,” I wasn’t sure what that entailed.
A little suspicious, my friends and I trekked out to a dark field and found a machine blasting out mountains of foam! For maybe 30 seconds, everyone stood around looking at each other, silently asking who was going in first.
A few guys took some brave strides into the bubbles, and that was all it took to get the party started. All dignity was abandoned.
Everyone was dancing and screaming along to 2010s bubble-gum pop hits, all the while being buried under drifts of foam. There were even people crowd-surfing.
I knew I wanted to take photos, but I also wanted my camera to survive the night. I spent way too much energy guarding it from soap, so here is some advice from a foam party veteran: Bring a towel and put your devices in a Ziploc bag!
I’m glad I stuck around for the afterparty. It ended up being one of the highlights of the night!
And the Winner Is …
If you go to CGT, go with your friends or hall, arrive early, and prepare to cheer on performances unlike anything you’ve ever seen from your classmates.
And if there’s another foam party, be sure to wear flip-flops and clothes you don’t mind getting a little soapy and muddy.
The mess is worth it. There aren’t many places where you can watch a talent show AND get covered in soap in the same night.
And remember that Kermit impression from the beginning? I wasn’t the only one who was impressed.
Caleb Kitchen (and his many impressions) took first place. That tells you everything you need to know about Cedarville’s Got Talent!
Posted in: ALT Nights, Campus Experience, Student Life